The Hunger for Truth
by SaraD
Summary: Set 8-10 years after Mockingjay, follow Katniss and Peeta's children, Flora Willow and Finn Rye, on a journey to discover the secret of their parent's pasts, a secret which will tear them apart... unless they face their parent's greatest fear: the Capitol of old...
1. Introduction

**Author's Note: Greetings, fellow Tributes, and welcome to my first story! I would like to thank Artea Brahaj and Zoey Pierce (AKA piepie1289; check her stories out for more AWESOMENESS!) for helping me bring this story from a Google+ chat to you! Reviews will be appreciated, and don't worry: the chapters will get progressively longer.**

*Flora Mellark POV*

Growing up, I had never really thought much about it, but now that I'm older, I've realized that my parents are unlike any other parents I've ever met. It's as if they share... a secret, one that is always hovering in midair, always there but never acknowledged.

Finn, my little brother, doesn't notice it; he's too young. But I KNOW they're keeping something from us. And, being cursed with my mother's curiosity, I was going to find out; who knew that their secret would rip us apart, sooner rather than later...

**Hope you enjoyed, see you next time, and *Mock Bow* "Thank you... for your consideration."**


	2. A Shocking Discovery

**Greetings, fellow Tributes! Wow, 2 favorites on the first day; thank you so much! Here's the second chapter; sorry it's so short again, BUT if I get a review, I promise to post the next one today! If not... sucks to be youuuuuu... ;P. (Kidding! I'll post it tomorrow!) But for now, enjoy!**

*Flora Mellark POV*

Once I decided to investigate, I didn't really have to look very far to find my first clue: ever since I was little, I had noticed that there were days in which my parents never left their room. I had dismissed it as them being tired, and had simply gone to Uncle Haymitch's house to help him tend his geese. But I was on a quest now, and despite having been told not to disturb them on such days, I tiptoed to their room and poked my head through the slightly-open door.

I don't know what I'd been expecting to find, but it certainly hadn't been this...

**Dun... dun... DUUUNNN! Major cliffhanger! If you want to see what horrible thing Flora saw before tomorrow, leave a review! Either way... *Mock Bow* "Thank you... for your consideration."**


	3. The Bravest of Them All

**Greetings, fellow Tributes! Well, since I didn't get a review yesterday :'(, I decided to teach you all a lesson and wait until today to post! ;P. See you at the bottom!**

*Flora Mellark POV*

Instead of my parents sleeping, I'm shocked by what I see: my father, the kindest, gentlest man I've ever met, is standing in the middle of the room, his hands clutching a chair so hard that it's a miracle it hasn't broken. He grunts in pain as his eyes, normally the most beautiful blue, the color he and I share, turn pitch black. I saw my mother desperately clutching his face, looking at him with a face full of love; I admired her courage, I would have run by now. What made me stay, despite the fear quickly spreading through me, is what she was saying: "Not real, Peeta, not real; I love you Peeta, come back to us, to the kids, they need you- I need you! Come back to me! Please-"

Her frantic pleas were interrupted by him lifting up the chair and bringing it down to the floor with such force that it shattered, narrowly missing my mother's head. A voice, unlike any other I'd ever heard, came out of my father's mouth. "DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU MUTT!" As I stared in shock, my young mind tried to process what was happening. Before I could make sense of what I'd seen, I heard my mother moan in pain. Apparently, one of the longest splinters got stuck IN my mother's arm, and as I saw my mother slowly back away from my father, the blood seeping through her shirt, something in me broke. An almost animal urge to protect my mother surged through me, and without thinking of the consequences, I burst into the room. "LEAVE MOM ALONE!" Time seemed to slow down; I jumped in front of Mom, shielding her from the blow Dad was about to inflict on her. "Flora, NO!" I felt her trying to push me out the way, but it was too late; his fist crashed into my head with such intensity that I flew across the room, landing hard on the floor. I felt the taste of blood in my mouth as my mother ran to my side, but before I could tell her to run before Dad could injure her again, the blackness engulfed me...

**Major cliffhanger! If you want to see what happens as quickly as possible, leave a review and I'll post it today! (Be it good, bad, or ugly, it will be greatly appreciated!) As always, *Mock Bow* "Thank you... for your consideration."**


	4. Only Time Will Tell

**Greetings, fellow Tributes! Before anything else, I'd like to thank dkygirl for my first review! *District 12 salute* Unfortunately, it was too late for me to post the next chapter... but here it is! Hope you enjoy!**

*Peeta Mellark*

I sat in a hard chair in the hospital waiting room, my head in my hands, nursing the headache I had from when Haymitch smashed one of the chair legs over my head, successfully knocking me out until the episode ended. Once I had woken up in the emergency room, I refused all pain medicine and demanded to know where my family was. My heart dropped when I heard that Flora was in the Intensive Care unit. I had run to the waiting room and stopped when I saw Katniss in a chair, sobbing, a doctor standing over her with a grim expression. "No… no no no no!" I fell to my knees as Katniss and the doctor realized I was there and rushed over to me. "Peeta… oh, Peeta, thank God you're back! I was so scared for you-" Her gush of joy was interrupted by my heartbroken sobs. "How could I do this to her?! My sweet little girl… I KILLED HER!" I was nearly hysterical as Katniss grabbed my face and forced me to look at her; I vaguely remembered her doing the same thing earlier, when I was fighting for control, before I- "STOP IT, PEETA! YOU DIDN'T KILL HER!"

The fog in my brain cleared a bit as I struggled to see through my tears. "Mr. Mellark," the doctor in the room with Katniss spoke up, a worried tone in his voice. "Mr. Mellark, your daughter has a serious head injury. She's unconscious, and will probably remain that way for some time while her brain tries to recuperate from the shock. Otherwise, she's fine." At the sight of hope in my eyes, he was quick to add: "We're not sure if there has been any permanent brain damage. We've examined her, and we're hoping for the best, but… only time will tell." With that note, he stepped out of the room, leaving us crying in each other's arms on the floor…

That was hours ago; hell, it could be days, I don't know. In spite of all this, Katniss has risen to the challenge: comforting me when more episodes creep in, calling Haymitch to give him an update and to make sure he's watching Finn, talking to every doctor and nurse on the floor to know what's going on with Flora… at the thought of her sweet face, her smile, so much like her mother's, her bright blue eyes… my eyes… I can't take it anymore. I look over at Katniss, who's finally fallen asleep in her chair. I gently move the hair out of her face and kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry… I'll never hurt any of you again." And with that, I eased out of the chair, my head pounding with the slightest movement, and walked away.

**You like? Hope so, because unfortunately, my computer committed tech suicide and DIED on me, so it'll be a while before I can get the next chapter up. Don't worry, it should only be a few days, so stay tuned; and as always, *Mock Bow* "Thank you... for your consideration."**


	5. Farewell

**Greetings, fellow Tributes! I'm BAAAACK! ;P So sorry for the delay, I had some unexpected spending to do and was not able to purchase a new laptop. :( However, I borrowed a laptop from a friend for this weekend for a research project, so I will be posting several chapters both tomorrow and Monday! *Snoopy Happy Dance* And now, without further ado, here is Finn Rye Mellark!**

*Finn Mellark POV*

I sat at the kitchen table, still in my pajamas, even though it's late afternoon. I haven't really oved from this spot, or thought of anything else since this morning. I feel like I'll never be able to cry again; I'd shed so many tears since this morning, it's a wonder I hadn't already cried my eyeballs out. Uncle Haymitch come over, but after spending several hours trying to get me to do anything but stare into space and cry, he simply left, said he'd needed to take care of his geese. He's probably passed out in their stall; he keeps a couple of bottles hidden in the feed trough. Just as I'm finally coming to grips with the fact that my big sister is in the hospital because my father knocked her out, who else but Dad dashed in. "Finn…" All my questions die off at the sight of him: he looked years older, so heartbroken that it's all I could do not to cry again. Flora always said I was a crybaby… in spite of Dad nearly hugging the life out of me, I had to know. "Dad, is Flora-"

At the mention of Flora, he immediately let me go and slumped in a chair. "Finn, I need you to listen to me: I'm leaving. I don't know where I'm going, but I need to leave right now." He stands up and heads upstairs, and I heard him throwing stuff around his room, but I couldn't move. Not only have I probably lost my sister, now I'm losing my father? My mother will probably not be far behind; my parents are basically inseparable, and I know that if Dad leaves, it'll destroy Mom. Before I could come up with an argument to convince him to stay, Dad walked in with a suitcase in hand. How long was I zoned out? He took my face in his hands and looked at me with loving eyes, and not the eyes of the monster I'd been fearing he'd become. "I just want you to know that I love you, all of you…. make sure your mother and sister know that too, ok? You need to be the man of the house, take care of them for me. You think you can do that?" I nodded, not trusting my voice. He then gave me a quick squeeze, kissed my forehead and left. As the door closed behind him, I just stood there, speechless; and for the hundredth time today, burst into tears.

**So many feels! Review if you enjoyed, and if you didn't, *Mock Bow* "Thank you... for your consideration."**


	6. Come Back to Me

**Greetings, fellow Tributes! When I went to post this chapter, I was shocked to find that this story has already been viewed over 450 times! *Snoopy Happy Dance* Thank you all for the support; I'm thrilled to find out that there are people who actually LIKE my story! Ok, enough sap; enjoy the chapter!**

*Katniss Mellark POV*

I woke up screaming for Peeta to come back, to not leave me alone again. Fighting against the drowsiness, I rubbed my sore neck while feeling for Peeta on the seat next to me. When my hand felt nothing but air, I opened my eyes. Gratefully, the waiting room had remained empty, except for me and…. "Peeta!" Realization at what might have happened rushed through me, and I ran to the nurse's station. Apparently there was a shift change while I was asleep, so the poor nurse almost didn't know what to make of the former Mockingjay near hysterics, running up to her and demanding to know her daughter's state. Fortunately, she kept her shock to a minimum and went to the computer to check. "Mrs. Mellark, according to the doctor's report, as of a few minutes ago…" The nurse calmly clicked the keyboard, while I was on the verge of a total breakdown. "...is still unconscious, but otherwise stable." My relief only lasted for a moment as the fear returned. If nothing happened to Flora, then where is Peeta? "Have you seen my husband? I don't know where he is, and he wouldn't have left without telling me or leaving a message." The nurse gave me a sympathetic look which I immediately wanted to smack off her face. "The was a shift change just a half-hour ago, so I haven't seen him; let me check to see if he left you a message." As she began to sort through the papers littering the large desk, my mind began to try to figure out where he might be, and our confrontation came slamming back into my brain at full force. "Oh, please have left a message…"

After taking time to not only look through each piece of paper on the desk, but to organize the entire thing, she finally called me over. "Well, it seems like Mr. Mellark did not leave a message, but your son did. He asked you to call him back as soon as possible, said something about Mr. Mellark leaving?" She looked as worried as I feel, but for different reasons. After that, everything was a blur: the nurse handing me the phone, trying to calm Finn, who was in hysterics, and then listening to him tell me what had happened through his sobs. When he told me Peeta's message, I dropped the phone and grabbed my head as sobs began to wrack my body. The nurse led me to an empty room, left me sobbing on the bed, and came back with an injection. "Mild sedative; doctor's orders." Despite my fear of needles, I gratefully allow the sedative into my veins, seeking anything to help this chasm of pain that was threatening to engulf me, if only until the nightmares began. As sudden drowsiness began to pull at my eyelids, I could almost see Peeta looking at me, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling with excitement and love. I managed to whisper, "Peeta, come back to me..." before succumbing to a restless, nightmare-filled slumber.

**Soooo... you likey? Leave a review; you say anything about the story: the good, the bad, the ugly... if you dare! ;P I'll be posting the next chapter later today, so as always, *Mock Bow* "Thank you... for your consideration."**


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